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NoneNEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” The Manhattan district attorney's office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won't include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn't sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump" who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia. At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Here’s the latest: A somber announcement The longest-lived American president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” The Carter Center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. A Southerner and a man of faith In his 1975 book “Why Not The Best,” Carter said of himself: “I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry.” A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. After he left office and returned home to his tiny hometown of Plains in southwest Georgia, Carter regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world. Former Vice President Gore remembers Carter for life “of purpose” Former Vice President Al Gore praised Jimmy Carter for living “a life full of purpose, commitment and kindness” and for being a “lifelong role model for the entire environmental movement.” Carter, who left the White House in 1981 after a landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan. concentrated on conflict resolution, defending democracy and fighting disease in the developing world. Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, remains a leading advocate for action to fight climate change. Both won Nobel Peace Prizes. Gore said that “it is a testament to his unyielding determination to help build a more just and peaceful world” that Carter is often “remembered equally for the work he did as President as he is for his leadership over the 42 years after he left office.” During Gore’s time in the White House, President Bill Clinton had an uneasy relationship with Carter. But Gore said he is “grateful” for “many years of friendship and collaboration” with Carter. The Clintons react to Jimmy Carter’s death Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, remember Carter as a man who lived to serve others. “Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life. Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others — until the very end.” The statement recalled Carter’s many achievements and priorities, including efforts “to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama, and secure peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David.” After he left office, the Clinton statement said, Carter continued efforts in “supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy; to his and Rosalynn’s devotion and hard work at Habitat for Humanity — he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world,” the statement said.
SEALSQ's LAES short percent of float has fallen 9.05% since its last report. The company recently reported that it has 2.37 million shares sold short , which is 8.94% of all regular shares that are available for trading. Based on its trading volume, it would take traders 1.0 days to cover their short positions on average. Why Short Interest Matters Short interest is the number of shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. Short selling is when a trader sells shares of a company they do not own, with the hope that the price will fall. Traders make money from short selling if the price of the stock falls and they lose if it rises. Short interest is important to track because it can act as an indicator of market sentiment towards a particular stock. An increase in short interest can signal that investors have become more bearish, while a decrease in short interest can signal they have become more bullish. See Also: List of the most shorted stocks SEALSQ Short Interest Graph (3 Months) As you can see from the chart above the percentage of shares that are sold short for SEALSQ has declined since its last report. This does not mean that the stock is going to rise in the near-term but traders should be aware that less shares are being shorted. Comparing SEALSQ's Short Interest Against Its Peers Peer comparison is a popular technique amongst analysts and investors for gauging how well a company is performing. A company's peer is another company that has similar characteristics to it, such as industry, size, age, and financial structure. You can find a company's peer group by reading its 10-K, proxy filing, or by doing your own similarity analysis. According to Benzinga Pro , SEALSQ's peer group average for short interest as a percentage of float is 2.98%, which means the company has more short interest than most of its peers. Did you know that increasing short interest can actually be bullish for a stock? This post by Benzinga Money explains how you can profit from it. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and was reviewed by an editor. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — Ryan Stubblefield threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to lead South Carolina State to a 53-21 win over Norfolk State on Saturday. The Bulldogs (9-2, 5-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), who have their most wins since getting nine in 2013, wrapped up the conference title and a Celebration Bowl berth a week earlier. They play the Southwestern Athletic Conference champion in Atlanta on Dec. 14. The Spartans (4-8, 2-3) led 14-10 after one quarter but the Bulldogs scored the next 29 points. Stubblefield scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard keeper late in the second quarter, capping a seven-play, 76-yard drive. Then he found Einaj Carter for 10-yard touchdown in the third as the Spartans pulled away. KZ Adams, who had 128 yards on 18 carries, then ran for a pair of touchdowns, making it 39-14 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Jalen Daniels threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score for the Spartans. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25Murray – Britain’s greatest ever player – retired after this summer’s Olympics at the age of 37 after finally admitting defeat in his battle against his body. Many in the game expected the Scot would one day return to tennis and become a coach, particularly due to his love of the sport, hard work and his tactical acumen. He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024 But it came with some degree of shock on Saturday afternoon when a social media post from Djokovic, playing on Murray’s light-hearted tweet upon his departure, read: “He never liked retirement anyway”. The attached video announced Murray, who he lost to in two Slam finals but beat in four Australian showpieces, would coach him over the winter and through January’s Open in Melbourne. “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in in our sport. They called us gamechangers, risk-takers, history-makers,” Djokovic said. “I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome aboard, coach Andy Murray.” Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013, says he wants to help the 24-time grand slam champion achieve his goals. “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open, he said. “I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.” Djokovic, a week younger than his new coach, added: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach. “Looking forward to the start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.” Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 Australian Open finals as well as the French Open final in 2016. It was after he unseated Djokovic at the top of the rankings in 2016 that Murray suffered the hip injury which ultimately derailed his career. Since his retirement, Murray has been playing golf with the same dedication he pursued his tennis but will now return to his natural habitat. Djokovic, who split with coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, hopes that adding Murray to his team will help him get back to the top of the game after he went through a calendar year without winning a grand slam for the first time since 2017. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have developed a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game and Djokovic, who has seen Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all retire in recent years, is still hoping to move clear of the record 24 grand slams he shares with Margaret Court.
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Looking back at Washington Huskies’ past trips to the Sun BowlOn Jan. 20, 1981, after suffering a landslide defeat, former President Jimmy Carter returned home to rural Plains to what he called “an altogether new, unwanted, and potentially empty life.” By 1982, he had such a low profile that Time magazine called him “virtually a non-person, a president who never was.” But Carter would rewrite his legacy by turning to his implacable faith. It was, to him, an enduring source of comfort and inspiration, continuously helping guide him even through the most stunning setbacks — from losing elections to marital woes, an interminable hostage crisis in Iran and health crises in later life. His hometown of Plains wasn’t just Carter’s childhood home — it was his spiritual center. Upon his return after his presidential defeat, Carter, a third-generation Baptist, maintained his lifetime habit — teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church. He made a cross that stood for years above the altar in his wood shop. As an active member, he took his turn cutting the church’s grass. And he applied his love-your-neighbor ethic to his work at the Carter Center. “He is not some pie-in-the-sky Christian. He is a down-to-earth Christian who sees the everyday challenges and applies his faith to practical problems,” said civil rights hero the Rev. Joseph Lowery in an October 2010 interview. “There is no question his commitment to peace is based on faith. His commitment to help the poor, his commitment to housing, you can attribute that to his faith. It was Christ’s challenge to serve the poor and he’s done that. I admire him for that.” In his 1996 book “Living Faith,” Carter wrote openly about problems in his marriage. Getting involved in the church in Plains helped him and his wife work though communication woes. “We found we could communicate through discussions of our religious faith better than we could without it,” he said. When they had problems in their marriage, they would kneel together, pray to God and both would tell their sides of the story. It was as if they used God as the ultimate marriage counselor, according to E. Stanly Godbold, a Carter historian and author of the book, “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years, 1924 to 1974.” Faith played a role in 1978 when Carter held peace meetings between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Carter believed the common thread of religion helped bring the two sides together. “At Camp David, for instance, this is one of the main themes of Anwar Sadat, we had so much in common worshipping the same God that we could form a common foundation for peace,” Carter told the AJC in a 1996 interview. READ AN EXCERPT OF PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER’S BOOK, “ FAITH: A JOURNEY FOR ALL,” WHICH WAS PRINTED IN THE AJC IN 2018. Break with Southern Baptists When Carter was running for president, he was an appealing candidate to Southern Baptists and other evangelicals — a small town guy in the Bible belt, still married to the same woman and the first U.S. presidential candidate who self-identified as a born-again Christian. That terminology was new for swaths of America and resulted in news articles across the nation examining and explaining, often poorly, conservative Christian beliefs. It was also an early sign of the development of the political-religious organizations such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority that followed. The evangelical Christian vote helped elect Carter. But in just four years, the most famous face of the Baptist religion was at odds with the increasingly conservative-leaning Southern Baptist Convention. The nation’s largest Protestant denomination also was undergoing its own cultural changes. Through the 1980s, theologically and politically conservative leaders rallied voting members of the convention to sweep out moderates from leadership roles in churches, seminaries and colleges over their theological “liberalism.” Carter’s views on hot-button issues such as supporting women as leaders in the church made him increasingly unpopular among many Southern Baptists and other evangelicals. He later showed support for civil unions, and by 2018 for marriage of same sex couples. But in 1979, many of the conservatives who voted for him the first time deserted him for Ronald Reagan. In 2000, Carter severed ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, saying parts of its “increasingly rigid” doctrines violated the “basic premises of my Christian faith.” Carter went on to play a role in helping start an alternate association for progressive evangelical Black and white churches whose memberships and leaders were more moderate in their thinking and actions, such as installing women into pulpits and key church roles, and focusing on goals such as fighting poverty, and advocating for the environment and social causes. Carter used his weight to get the New Baptist Covenant and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship off the ground. In 2008, he helped bring together 20,000 Baptists representing more than 20 million church members for an Atlanta event designed to bury differences and work together. The tension was deep. The Southern Baptist Convention’s news service, Baptist Press, did not carry a news article about Carter winning the Nobel Peace Prize. “Carter didn’t change,” said Nancy T. Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University and author of “Baptist Battles.” “The definition of what it meant to be Southern and Baptist changed.” “One of the characteristics of being Baptist is this that you have to make decisions about how your life is going to go,” said Ammerman. “No priest can do it for you. There’s this deep-seated notion of individual freedom and individual accountability, and [that] gave him this fierce ability to be independent that has shaped his personality and career and has given him a strong commitment to democracy, various human rights issues and religious liberty.” An abiding faith Carter’s faith can be traced back to his childhood, a time when Sunday was devoted to church and biblical teachings. In his hometown of Plains, no stores were open on Sunday. Going to a movie theater or even playing cards on Sunday was out of the question. That devotion never faded. Well into his 90s, he was behind the pulpit teaching multiple Sundays every year to classes filled with people from around the nation and world who would drop in to hear the former president. One Sunday, Carter counted 28 nations represented in the pews. He would talk about God and loving your enemies, and then sprinkle stories of traveling around the globe, building houses and eradicating disease. He and Rosalynn would pose for pictures with visitors at the little church, a quintessential Jimmy Carter experience. Even as he contemplated his demise, he looked to his faith for guidance. In “Living Faith,” he wrote: “We can face death with fear, anguish, self-torment and unnecessary distress among those around us. Or, through faith and the promises of God, we can confront the inevitable with courage, equanimity, good humor and peace. 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The history books say that America’s seat of government is in Washington, D.C. But some might be forgiven for thinking it is now nearly 1,000 miles south at Mar-a-Lago , the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post and where President-elect Donald Trump holds court much like Louis XIV did at the Palace of Versailles. Trump has repeatedly chosen Floridians for top posts in his incoming Cabinet, including former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz , who pulled his own nomination for attorney general over allegations of having sex with minors, and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to head the Drug Enforcement Administration , who withdrew amid opposition from conservatives over his behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Ron DeSantis , who unsuccessfully challenged the former president during the GOP primaries but then made up with him and remains popular with MAGA loyalists, recently saw his name enter the discussion as a possible defense secretary. This occurred after Fox News host Pete Hegseth ran into trouble as Trump’s first choice to run the Pentagon over claims of inappropriate sexual behavior and heavy drinking. Hegseth appears to have weathered the initial storm, and it is unclear whether DeSantis will enter the fray or be tapped for some other position. DeSantis is a Navy vet who volunteered for the Iraq War and also served as a legal adviser to the Navy SEALs. Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder Dec. 4, 2024 Florida’s preeminence in the second Trump administration is in no small way a reflection of the way the governor has refashioned the state and the Republican Party in his own pugnacious image. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DeSantis criticized the lockdowns and encouraged Americans in other states (especially blue ones) to relocate to Florida as it was open for business . Hundreds of thousands of people left the cold climes of New York, New Jersey and places even further away, settling in the Sunshine State and registering as Republicans. The party now enjoys a 1.1 million edge in party registration over the Democrats out of some 14 million registered voters. Even if DeSantis stays put, Trump’s early choice of another Florida man, Sen. Marco Rubio , to be secretary of state is a similar statement of the importance of the state to Trump, who also changed his residence from New York to Florida in 2019. Susan Wiles , co-manager of Trump’s campaign and a veteran GOP operative in the state, has been tapped as chief of staff, rounding out a who’s who of Sunshine State pols. That’s hardly the end of the Florida connection. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi , a long-time Trump supporter, is the choice to replace Gaetz as U.S. attorney general. Another member of Congress, Rep. Mike Waltz , is incoming as the national security adviser. Trump has chosen prominent Floridians and TV personalities for his health team. Janette Nesheiwat is a doctor (and Waltz’s wife) who is Trump’s pick for surgeon general. Former Oprah Winfrey TV doctor Mehmet Oz , who owns homes in the Palm Beach area, is on tap to be the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Former congressman and doctor Dave Weldon is the choice to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while the nominations of Gaetz and others took the headlines, Todd Blanche – one of Trump’s private lawyers who defended him in the New York hush money trial – recently moved to Palm Beach and is slated for the key role of deputy attorney general. READ: “I don't know that we've ever had one state become so prominent in an administration, even Texas during the Bush era,” says Whit Ayres, a long-time Republican political consultant who is president of North Star Opinion Research. Indeed, one has to go far back in Washington presidential history to find anything similar. Other than the presidency of George W. Bush, the other era that comes to mind is the group of Californians who followed Ronald Reagan to Washington – including Ed Meese, who served as attorney general, and Mike Deaver, a close confidante of Nancy Reagan who was deputy chief of staff. Other wealthy Californians provided advice to Reagan during his presidency, though they did not assume public roles. Trump has a long connection to Florida, having spent many a day and night in the state since he acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 for $7 million (some reports peg the price at $10 million), spending millions renovating it and turning it into a lucrative business as a social club. Trump has other properties in Florida besides Mar-a-Lago that became his primary residence in 2019. His name is on three championship golf courses – Trump National Doral in Miami, Trump National in Jupiter and Trump International in West Palm Beach, where he often plays while in Florida. Ivanka Trump, his daughter who has kept out of the limelight for much of her father’s recent political campaign, and her husband, Jared Kushner, own a $24 million mansion in Miami’s famed Indian Creek Island, where neighbors include Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame and quarterback Tom Brady. “I mean, it makes sense he’s here,” Michael Binder, professor of political science at the University of North Florida, says of Trump and his proclivity for favoring fellow Floridians. The state’s ascendancy in the GOP’s Trump era has not yet been matched with power in Congress as House members have not taken on top positions in that chamber as much as Texans and Californians once did. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida tried last month to win the position of majority leader but lost in the first round, garnering the fewest number of votes from his colleagues. But that may not matter. Trump is not a creature of Congress or state politics, and his brand is built around the idea of challenging the established rules and mores of Washington. To the extent that those Floridians he has chosen are seen as outsiders, it may bode well for their future political fortunes – and those of their state.